Passion
by rianess
Summary: Gippal and Rikku romance based on Charlotte Lamb's novel 'Obsession'. Rikku has no intention of becoming one of Gippal's flings, but Gippal has other ideas. Who will succumb to whom first?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to FFX-2 or Charlotte Lamb's works.**_

_**A/N: This is a Gippal-Rikku romance, based on the Charlotte Lamb novel, 'Obsession'. All feedback is most welcome.**_

* * *

**_Passion_**

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

_"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship."_

_**Oscar Wilde**_

* * *

Rikku was tired. She had a bad cold and had been in bed all weekend. She really didn't want to go to work this morning, she wanted to be tucked up under her duvet, hiding from the miserable weather and the world. Dogs had the right idea, they went away to lick their wounds and only returned to the world when they were whole again.

She was currently walking along the banks of the Moonflow, heading towards Djose Temple. She would catch a hover when she reached the woods, not feeling like walking and having to cull several fiends en route. Also, she had slept in a bit this morning and if she didn't catch the hover she would be late. And that was the last thing she needed.

Since the defeat of Vegnagun, she had been rather at a loose end. The Gullwings had split up, Yuna staying in Besaid with her beloved Tidus, and Paine disappearing somewhere with Nooj. Leblanc certainly hadn't liked that, but there hadn't been much she could do about it.

Rikku had gone to Bikanel with her Father and Brother, as they prepared to rebuild Home, but her mind was elsewhere. When a job offer came in from the Machine Faction, she decided to take it on a trial basis. That had been two years ago, and she was still at the Machine Faction, working as Gippal's secretary.

When she had first arrived, she had been surprised to hear how many secretaries had come and gone before her. Gippal was not a saint, she knew, but deep down she believed he was a pussy cat. Not so, when it came to his precious Faction, it appeared. She'd only been there for twelve hours before she considered walking out. Gippal was a slave driver. He had built his business from the ground up with his bare hands, and it meant everything to him. He had a source of personal energy and drive which few could hope to match, yet he expected everyone to work as hard as he did.

Gradually, over time, Rikku had learned to deal with this side of her old friend she had never seen before. Cool, capable and confident, Rikku ran his office with ease, taking care of the little things and leaving him to concentrate on important matters.

Her first few months on the job had been spent reorganising his office and most of the Faction so that it ran efficiently and effectively. Crossover of procedures and waste during production were eliminated. The Faction was more successful than it ever had been before.

Gippal's temper didn't improve, however, but Rikku was able to cope with it. She learned to laugh at him when he was snapping like an angry couerl. And, he had put her salary up several times so when he really pissed her off, she thought twice about leaving.

* * *

She arrived at her desk at nine o'clock on the dot. Putting her bag down and her coat in a nearby cupboard, she picked up the mail and began sorting it. It was only a few seconds later that the door to Gippal's office banged open.

"You're late!" he accused, "I expect to find my letters open and sorted when I arrive and not to have to wait idly for you."

Rikku glanced at the clock, it was still nine. "I'm not late –" she began, but was cut off.

"You _are._ Get here on time in future. Got your pad? Send a dozen moon lilies to Miss Gemuse, you know the sort."

She _did _know the sort. That meant Ceara Gemuse was out. How long had she lasted? Three months. Since Lady Yuna Day... Yes, it was Lady Yuna Day, the anniversary of the bringing of the Eternal Calm. There had been a big party; all the important names in Spira were invited to it, in Bevelle. Baralai had been the host, if Rikku had remembered rightly, and Gippal had met Ceara there.

She wasn't a bad sort really, dark hair, tall, sinuous with smoky eyes and rich laughter. His usual type, in fact. Rikku had rather liked her, in fact. She was a tad more intelligent than his other women, and they had got on well together.

Rikku remembered the night they had met particularly, for the very next day, despite it being her day off and that she was sporting a terrific hangover, she had been ordered to send a dozen moon lilies to his previous girlfriend. What had her name been? Rikku couldn't remember. But she had been the same type as Ceara. Yes, three months, that was about usual for one of Gippal's flings.

Rikku thought it was silly, but it was his life to with what he pleased. He was rich, and had made all his money himself. He could afford to buy himself the toys he wanted, and did.

Gippal went back into his office, and Rikku took the chance to contact the florist on the CommSphere installed on her desk. When she placed the order, the florist smiled wryly.

"On her way out, is she?" she chuckled and Rikku nodded.

"Looks like it." She replied.

"The usual card?"

"Yes, just '_Yours, Gippal_'."

"That's a laugh."

* * *

Just before lunch, Gippal came back into her office with a smile. "There's a party this weekend. Rin's hosting it. Probably wants to show off because he won the contract for placing guard machina on the Mi'ihen Highroad. Don't know how he plans to make a profit on it; with the quote he put forward he'll be losing money. Anyway, you better come. Stick to me and don't drink."

Rikku frowned. She hadn't bargained on having to go to one of those parties this weekend. She had a friend coming to stay with her and didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone while she went off to some awful business do.

The friend was a woman name Lila. She was a cousin of Lulu's and she and Rikku had struck up a bizarre friendship a year into the Calm. Truthfully, she had no idea why she was still friends with Lila, since the woman went out of her way to make sure she outshined Rikku wherever they went, not that Rikku was at all vain, but at times it could be somewhat hurtful. It was all rather subtle, a dig here, a sly comment there, but it all added up to a sort of hidden enmity where Rikku spent most of her time wondering what she was doing with Lila.

She didn't have the heart to tell her to get lost however, so she had been deliberately not keeping in touch with the other woman, hoping she would get the hint and forget her. Unfortunately, Lila was proving to be rather more tenacious than she'd bargained for, and had invited herself to stay this coming weekend. Apparently, Fayth help her, Lila was bored. Rikku foresaw disaster on the horizon if a bored Lila met up with a single and available Gippal.

"I'm afraid I can't come to the party, Gippal. I'm going to be busy."

"Busy? Doing what? Is there a man involved? Really, I had no idea. I thought you were fancy free. Well, bring your man along; he'll have the time of his life. Rin always does these things well." Gippal replied with a smirk and Rikku grit her teeth.

She knew it would be a good party, if you liked that sort of thing. There would be champagne flowing like water, and plenty of food. But she wouldn't have a chance to indulge in any of that if she went. She would be forced to spend the whole evening with Gippal and remember everything which was said, and who to. Gippal would have to drink, to be polite, and maintain the fiction that he and Rin were old friends not in intense and sometimes fierce competition with each other in the machina market.

"It's not a man, it's an old friend. Lila. You know, Lulu's cousin?" she replied with false calm.

"Lila, hmm. Nice name. Looks like Lulu, does she?" He asked with a twinkle of interest in his eyes.

"She's married." Rikku said firmly and Gippal laughed.

"I don't bite. Bring her along; I look forward to meeting her." He declared and then sauntered back to his office as if that decided the whole thing. Rikku sighed. Lila was just the type of exotic brunette that Gippal fancied. And if she were persuaded to embark on one of Gippal's three-monthly jags, just to be dumped afterwards when he had tired of her, Rikku would never hear the end of it. It would of course, be all _her _fault. Of that she had no doubt.

No, she decided. There was no way she was letting Gippal or Lila come within a mile of each other.

* * *

Lunch time arrived and Gippal's younger brother, Cyvan came into her office.

"Ready for some lunch, Rikku? I thought we might try that new place on the North Bank." He offered with a warm smile, and Rikku grinned right back.

Cyvan had been on her Pops' airship when they fought Sin. He was one of the engineers which helped repair it, and basically kept it in the sky. He had been doing his own thing after the victory, until Gippal found him and herded him along with him to the Machine Faction. Cyvan was easy going, and when his brother told him he needed someone to train new engineers, Cyvan had agreed affably.

He was a sweet guy, but sadly lacking in that special something, that indefinable charisma which made Gippal so magnetic to other people. Rikku liked him though, and had built a solid friendship with him in the time she had spent at the Faction.

Though her family and theirs had been close, Rikku hadn't seen much of Cyvan when they all lived at Home. Even then he had been knocking about the machina workrooms, instead of running around outside with his older brother and her.

Rikku locked away the papers she had been working on and retrieved her money and jacket.

"We going to get a hover? It's a bit of a trek from here." She asked and he nodded.

"Hey, if you're good, I'll even let you ride the Shoopuff." Cyvan replied, and Rikku laughed.

* * *

"Heard about the party this weekend at Rin's?" Cyvan asked as they were finishing their desert, and Rikku grimaced.

"Gippal mentioned it." She replied and he smiled ruefully.

"You going for fun, or as Gippal's memory bank?" He asked, knowing his brother only too well.

"His memory bank." She answered with a scowl.

"You don't like him much, do you?" Cyvan said, with an unreadable look. Rikku sat back and frowned.

"Not particularly. I have nothing against him per se, but the days of us being best friends are well over."

"It's funny. Most women just throw themselves at him. He has trouble fighting them off."

"Not me." Rikku said firmly. "Whatever charm he has, he doesn't waste it on me, or any of the other girls who work there. Ask Magdalena if she fancies him." She said, mentioning Cyvan's assistant, a sweet girl, who got on with everyone.

"Maggie's terrified of him, I know." He said, sounding preoccupied.

"I've made a promise to myself. The day I leave I'll tell your brother what I really think of him."

"And what might that be? Do tell Rikku, after all, we're old friends." A voice interrupted them, and they both looked up to see Gippal standing over their table with a dangerous look in his eyes. Not one to be intimidated easily, especially by a man who, as a little boy, used to dance naked in her parent's garden, Rikku got up out of her chair.

"I'll tell you the day I leave." She replied nonchalantly, and Cyvan jumped up to pay the bill. Taking Rikku's arm, he guided her out of the restaurant, neither of them looking back to the figure watching them closely, his eyes on their linked arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to FFX-2 or the works of Charlotte Lamb._**

**_A/N: Thank you to my devoted reader, DcoD. You've been an inspiration, and a great source of support. Also thank you to Laserai for your encouragement and guidance._**

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**Chapter Two**

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_"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot."_

**_D. H. Lawrence_**

* * *

The next morning when Rikku arrived at her office, she was surprised to find that Gippal had not yet gotten into work. It was noticeable, because he _always_ got into work early. He was usually the first person there, and the last one to leave. Rikku had often wondered where he found the time for a sex life, given his strong work ethic, but chalked it up to another of those things which were really none of her business.

It was strange, the detachment and the distance which had grown between them over the years, but in some ways, she believed it was only natural. After all, she wouldn't have been able to put up with all his moods if she had taken anything he said to heart. Truly, when he wanted to, he could be a nasty bastard.

It was around ten-thirty when Cyvan dropped into her office and exclaimed over Gippal's absence.

"He's still not here?" He marvelled and Rikku shrugged.

"His new lady-friend is probably keeping him busy." She ventured and Cyvan chuckled.

"Is there one?"

"If he stays true to form," she shrugged. "He usually dumps the current one when he finds something better." She replied, and then turned when her CommSphere buzzed. She activated it, and then almost shrank back at the sight of an angry Gippal.

"You've given me your cold!" He accused, his voice muffled and hoarse. Rikku suppressed a giggle, he really didn't sound happy.

"I'm terribly sorry Gippal." She hedged and he muttered a curse.

"Just get up here now, and bring the mail!" He ordered and then abruptly shut off the connection. Really, she wondered why he bothered calling, his apartments were only up a few flights of stairs. Could he not have sent someone, or just trudged down himself?

Knowing she didn't have a choice in the matter, she exchanged a wry grin with Cyvan, who saluted and then took himself of, and then began collecting Gippal's mail.

* * *

When she arrived in his private sanctuary on the top floor of the temple, she rapped loudly on the door and waited to be let in. It was more than anyone's life was worth to intrude in his rooms uninvited, and she had no intention on drawing more of his wrath than necessary.

When he finally opened the door his hair was a complete mess, his jaw dark with stubble and his skin was unnaturally pale. Rikku was startled by the fact that he was wearing boxer shorts and nothing else. Did he always answer the door dressed, or rather, undressed like that? The sight of him sent a quiver through Rikku which she was hard pressed to explain.

"Well? Are you coming in or what?" He demanded and Rikku just managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes at him.

"Cyvan asked me to tell you, 'Get well soon'." She said, as she walked past him into his rooms.

"Did he? And he couldn't bring himself to walk up some measly stairs to tell me that himself, could he?" Gippal replied tersely, before he slammed the door shut behind her. "I'm going back to bed." He announced and slouched off towards a nearby door. Rikku had no choice but to follow him.

When she arrived in his bedroom, he had already tucked himself up in the luxurious sheets, and was sneezing and swearing into a lump of tissue. The curtains were open and showed the crackling light from the lightening rocks outside. How he could stand having that fizzing around when he was feeling ill was beyond her. But perhaps in the years he'd been living in this temple, he had gotten used to it.

"This is all your fault, you know Rikku. I wouldn't put it past you to do this deliberately. What did you do? Spit in my drink and fill it with your disgusting germs?" He accused and glared at her with obvious irritation.

"Well, I am sorry you feel that way, Gippal. But I can assure you I have been nowhere near any of your drinks, and I did not give you my cold deliberately. It must have been airborne, and for that I apologise. I shall try, in future, only to contract illnesses which are transferred by contact or exchange of fluids. That way I can be sure of never passing them on to you. Does that meet with your approval, _sir_?" she asked, not caring that the 'sir' was loaded with sarcasm.

Gippal recognised her rising anger, and she could almost spot the point at which he remembered he was not dealing with one of his usual employees, but a girl who had known him since he was three, and as such, had several packets of suitable blackmail material stashed away in her brain, for use against him whenever he crossed the line.

He had, in fact, tried to cross the line between business and pleasure when she had first got the job. But after she delivered a firm refusal by way of her knee meeting his manhood in a most painful manner, Gippal had got the message and backed off. Since then, he had kept things strictly professional between them, except for when he allowed his temper to get the better of him. And he also knew that he would be in a fine mess if she ever walked out on him, so he did his best not to scare her away.

Thus, he knew when he was pushing his luck and suitably recognised this as one of those times. So, he changed the subject.

"Did you bring the mail?" He asked, and his tone was almost polite. She duly handed it over, having already sorted through it before she came up here, and taken out anything he wouldn't need to see.

"Cyvan and I can sort everything for you, you needn't worry." She assured him, hoping she would be able to get out of here soon. Gippal glanced up at her with narrowed eyes before turning back to his letters. Suddenly, he was hit by a wracking cough and the covers he had pulled up to his chest fell down, revealing his broad, muscled chest. Rikku looked away quickly.

"You'll have to cancel any meetings booked in for today." He said absently as he discarded the post she brought him.

"All done already, Gippal."

"Really. Ever heard of jumping the gun? In future, wait until I give you your directions, don't exceed your brief, Cid's girl."

Rikku almost started in surprise. It had been a long time since he'd called her Cid's girl. Early on in her employment here, she had insisted he called her Rikku, or nothing at all. She had told him she would leave if he didn't and when he refused to comply, she had even gone as far as packing her bags before he relented and promised to use her name in future.

His knowing smirk told her he knew just how upset she would be with him and didn't care. And for that, Rikku refused to be baited. It would be like him to try and make her feel bad just because he was feeling was, and she would go to Hell and back before she gave him the satisfaction.

"Yes sir!" She replied, smiling broadly, and just about managed to prevent herself from giving him a mocking salute.

In return Gippal gnashed his teeth at her and growled faintly. "Stop grinning like and idiot. You may find this whole situation amusing, but I sure as Hell don't! I hate being ill!"

"You're not ill, Gippal. You've just got a cold."

"Don't you tell me I'm not ill, woman! What do you know? You're not a medic, are you?"

Before Rikku could protest that she certainly was a medic, having mastered the White Mage Dressphere, he launched into his own version of a pity party.

"I feel like shit! My head is pounding, my throat feels like it's been attacked by a vengeful Ochu, and I can't stop coughing and sneezing long enough to complete a sentence." He duly demonstrated this by launching into a coughing fit which Rikku suspected was slightly exaggerated.

"I think I've got a fever coming on." He complained and Rikku repressed a sigh.

"You look pretty pasty to me, in fact."

"Damn you, Rikku! I tell you I've got a fever. Why are you insisting there's nothing wrong with me!" He demanded and she felt like shaking him.

It never occurred to her that he would be so petulant about a slight cold. What was it about men that made them think they were dying if they got the tiniest sniffle? Brother was exactly the same, if he got even the smallest cough then he shut himself up in his cabin for days, refusing to come out or see anyone.

"Why don't you do something useful, instead of just standing there? You haven't got a caring bone in your body, have you? If Ceara was here, she would be making me a soothing drink and comforting me."

"Do you want me to call her? I'm sure she'd be happy to come over and look after you." Rikku offered and Gippal scowled.

"Yevon, no! Don't want her getting any ideas. Once she got one dainty toe across the threshold I'd never get her out of here."

"Well, where is Danan? Surely he'd be able to fix up something for you?" She asked, wondering why she hadn't seen Gippal's attendant already.

"Humph! Gone on some blasted pilgrimage or something. Said he wanted to 'find himself', whatever that bloody means. Next time, don't let me hire some ex-yevonite. Make sure it's someone with some sense." He grumbled and Rikku frowned.

"Of course, because it so obviously _my _fault that you hired him. I mean, I know I was on Bikanel at the time, and didn't come here until months later, but I should have _sensed_ that you hired someone unsuitable and sent you a message poste-haste. Come to think of it, where _did _I leave that crystal ball, I could have sworn…" She looked around distractedly for a moment before giving Gippal a piercing stare.

"I'm all alone." He whimpered pathetically, clearly changing tactics.

"Shall I call Nhadala?" She offered, knowing that mentioning his older sister would get a rise out of him.

Since they had gone into business together, with her running things on the excavation side, Nhadala kept a close eye on all of Gippal's dealings. Whenever she came to Djose to check up on him, Gippal always managed to be somewhere else. Usually, he left Rikku and Cyvan to handle her, something which greatly annoyed everyone. They always managed to get a few laughs in though, especially at some of the ridiculous excuses he invented to explain his absence.

"Fayth protect me, no! I'm way too ill to handle Nhadala." He replied, grimacing as he coughed again. He looked over at her from hooded eyes and smiled coaxingly. "Make me a warm drink, please?"

He was turning on the charm, which meant he was definitely up to something. Rikku was in no doubt that something _was_ wrong with him, though he was surely exaggerating and milking it for all it was worth. She threw up her hands and stalked off out of his bedroom, heading for his small kitchenette.

In no time at all, she had made a large mug of honey and lemon, with a generous dash of _paan_. When she got back into his room, he was sitting up in bed scrolling through the news waves on his personal CommSphere. He put it down hastily and accepted the drink eagerly.

"Anything else?" Rikku ventured, and Gippal snapped.

"Stop trying to scuttle away. You can leave when I say so." He paused. "My bed's so uncomfortable, could you remake it for me?" He asked in a small voice, looking up at her through his lashes. Rikku decided that the sooner she complied, the sooner she could escape.

She nodded, and Gippal got up out of bed, surprisingly quickly for someone who was supposed to be ill, and meandered off towards the bathroom.

Muttering grimly under her breath about lazy layabouts who should know better, Rikku set to and stripped his bed. She quickly began remaking it and when she was done, she bent down to retrieve the CommSphere he had placed on the floor. Just as she did, it rang and she answered it.

Ceara's faced appeared and she demanded shrilly to know where Gippal was.

"He's ill Miss Gemuse."

"Why are you there?" she wanted to know.

"I brought him his post. I'll tell him you called, if you like?" She offered and Ceara cut the connection. Sighing, Rikku placed it on his bedside table and straightened up the pillows. A few moments later Gippal returned and got back into bed. She looked away as he did, but heard him sigh with pleasure at how comfortable it was.

"Who was that on the 'Sphere?"

"Ceara."

"Fayth! Why can't women tell when something is over?" He complained.

"Why do they even start it in the first place?" Rikku said under her breath.

"What?" He demanded.

"Oh, nothing." She replied, and walking towards the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy or the works of Charlotte Lamb.**

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**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it. This next chapter relies heavily on the book. It occurred to me that I'm following it _very _closely, but I can't really help that. Also, thank you to Miesie-chan for pointing out that as with all Al-bhed, Gippal's eye or eyes are green.  
**

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**Chapter Three**

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_"Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace... but we would be hollow... Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead."_

**_Joss Whedon_**

* * *

Rikku breathed a sigh of relief as the door swung closed behind her. She simply rolled her eyes at Gippal's parting shot of, "come back before you go home!"

When she made it back to the office she saw Cyvan was in Gippal's chair at Gippal's desk and looking very uncomfortable about it. It was no matter though, they worked together for the rest of the day and she duly went back upstairs to Gippal's apartments with a list of messages and progress updates that evening.

When he let her in, he was still in his boxers, but this time he had clearly had a shower. He was carrying a towel with which he rubbed his head as he walked up the corridor. In his living room, she noticed he'd had his heating on and a music sphere was still playing softly in one corner. He'd been drinking whisky, she noticed, eyeing an almost empty glass on a side table, next to which was a stack of papers.

She handed him the list of his messages. He scanned it briefly and then handed it back. "Anything unusual come up?" He asked. Rikku shook her head.

"You're obviously feeling better," she suggested and he gave her an ironic little smile.

"Oh, you approve of that, do you?"

She met his eyes with stone walling blankness, not quite sure about this new mood of his, and he laughed shortly. "How's Cyvan coping?"

"Admirably."

"Isn't that nice," he said, his golden-blond head titled to one side, his mouth crooked. He had shaved recently and was still slightly damp from his shower. His colour was better than it had been this morning, but his eyes were sharp. "Going to make me dinner then?"

"Do I get overtime?" Rikku snapped back. She wished she hadn't said it as soon as it flew out, but it was too late and Gippal's eye sparked angrily.

"For services above and beyond the call of duty? Of course. How much do you want?" His tone was barbed and Rikku sighed.

"It was a joke."

"I'm hysterical."

"Why don't you go back to bed?" she said wearily, because she was still suffering from the lingering remnant of her own cold and she had had a difficult day. He was too much at six o'clock on a chilly spring evening.

He left the room, apparently in a huff, and she slunk off to his kitchen to find something to make. He had some fish stored away, so she prepared and served it to him. After that she made his bed again while he watched her, and didn't quite like the way he did it, his narrowed green eye observing every movement, the stretch of her body across the bed, the blond hair falling forward across her face as she bent down. He didn't say a word, but Rikku was tense. There was insolence in his eyes as she turned to face him.

"If you were taller, you'd have a perfectly proportioned body," he commented, making her skin burn. "You're just s shade on the thin side."

"I do apologise," Rikku snapped.

Her anger only served to amuse him further. He got into the bed and as she left called: "Come at ten tomorrow."

She didn't answer, very tempted to slam the door as she walked out of his apartments. She was well aware that she had just been stripped visually by an expert. She had felt his eyes on her every second of the time while she made that bed. It wasn't the first time he had deliberately annoyed her by inspecting her like that, but she had thought he had stopped doing it. At first, during her early months with him, it had been one of his regular ways of getting under her skin, but gradually as they began to work so well together, he had dropped it.

She sighed again.

Probably he was in a mischievous mood because he wasn't too well and feeling awkward. All the same, she could have hit him. He used his sexual power as a weapon; Rikku knew that. She had seen him do it. Most women looked addled when Gippal turned his blue eye on them with the deliberate intention of making them aware of him sexually. Rikku merely felt a mixture of uneasiness and irritation.

* * *

In the office the next day she mentioned to Cyvan that Gippal was in a difficult mood and he repeated his statement from their lunch the other day that Rikku didn't like his brother much.

"It's funny, because as children you were barely ever apart."

"That seems like a long time ago, now," Rikku observed, but continued, "Anyway, it's like I told you before. Whatever charm he has he doesn't waste it on us – his lowly employees." She shrugged, "He's clever, and I have to admit, he works extremely hard, but he's not a comfortable man to have around."

She went up to his rooms at ten and found him blinking sleepily, having been woken by her arrival. He hadn't even combed his hair and it stood up in think untidy peaks. Not that that was much different to how he normally wore it, mind you, though Gippal would claim differently. He also hadn't shaved and he was still in his pyjamas.

"Get me some breakfast, will you?" he commanded, disappearing into the hall.

Rikku followed to protest and he turned. "I'm going to the bathroom. Where are you going?"

She topped and he gave her a glinting look and vanished. Rikku said something rather impolite under her breath. She didn't often swear, but she had promised Cyvan she would be back downstairs by half ten to sit in on a meeting with the men who had been surveying on Bikanel Island.

She had just got him his breakfast when she heard him emerge from the bathroom. She made the mistake of going out of the kitchen. He was now wearing just a towel wrapped around his waist; the smooth skin of his shoulders gleamed wetly. Rikku caught his eye and hurriedly withdrew again.

He was using her as free domestic help and she resented it. When was Danan coming back? She wanted to know.

She gave Gippal a few minutes to get dressed and then went towards his bedroom. She tapped on the door, the breakfast tray in her hand, and he called: "Come in," but when she opened the door he was still wearing nothing but the towel, standing in front of a mirror, brushing his hair. In the mirror, their eyes met. Rikku felt herself turning pink.

"Put it down on the bed," Gippal said. His voice was still husky, but it had improved a good deal over the last twenty four hours. There was a freshly opened box of tissues beside his bed, so obviously he'd been using them up at a tremendous rate.

"I gave in and took a potion. It seems to have worked." He turned and watched her as she put down the tray.

She turned and he had moved over towards her. Rikku had a peculiar sensation of confusion as their eyes met once more. He was so tall, his body so powerful, ad she knew she was blushing violently.

"Don't you have a robe or something?" she asked in a hurried, husky voice.

"What's the matter?" Gippal drawled, laughter in his voice. "Haven't you ever seen a man without his clothes on before? What an interesting thought!"

She was furious with the taunt in his voice. Stung, she glared at him. "Get something on!"

"By Yevon," Gippal jeered, "I do believe you're a virgin!"

Heat was burning in her face and her eyes were a violent, dark green. She turned to shoot out of the room and Gippal caught her arm and held her, struggling, not hurting her but imposing his strength to stop her escaping. She wished she had one of her garment grids on her right now. He might be stronger than her at this present moment, but she knew she could best him as the warrior or the dark knight. In fact, wearing practically any of them, she could. But for now, without it, in her normal clothes, she wasn't. And what was worse, he knew it.

"Let go of me," she murmured, tugging at her arm. Her eyes flicked to him and away as she took in the smooth, bare shoulders, the deep golden-haired chest. He had more muscles than she'd expected. His arms were powerful, though she'd already known that, having seen him hefting machinery with the rest of the workers. Say what you like about Gippal, he still mucked in and got his hands dirty when it was necessary.

His naked thighs were strongly moulded. He was staring at her with one narrowed eye, which glimmered with amusement.

"Are you frightened of me? Little old me, your childhood friend?"

"No," she lied shakily. She wasn't normally afraid of him, but right now, she was."I'm just annoyed. Let go!"

"What do you imagine I might do, I wonder?" Gippal laughed under his breath as she tensed and renewed her efforts to get away. His other hand came up to cup her chin. She tried to wrest her head away but couldn't move it. Gippal bent forward and brushed his mouth lightly, teasingly, over her lips. "There," he said with mockery. "You can stop trembling. It's over."

She was released. Gippal turned to the bed and Rikku fled from the room in total disarray. In the kitchen she leant on the wall. Her face was so hot she had to splash it with water before she could summon the nerve to go back to him.

He had eaten his breakfast and was dressed in a jumper and pants. He gave her a wicked grin as she walked into the room. "Feeling better now?"

"I must go," she said, ignoring that.

"You'll have to take Cyvan to Rin's party," Gippal told her.

"You aren't going?"

He shook his head. "I think I'll take the weekend off."

Rikku left made her way downstairs to her office, still fuming. The little incident bothered her. It was the first time Gippal had ever behaved like that with her. Sure there had been teasing when they were younger and all, but not like this. He had been amusing himself with her. She wasn't his type and he knew she didn't fancy him either, but the devil finds work for idle hands to do. Or so her old nana used to say. Rikku never was sure what her nana meant by the devil, but there you go. Gippal had been bored and alone in his rooms all day. He was nowhere near as ill as he chose to believe, and he had turned his potent sexual weapons on her for amusement. She could kick herself for having let him get under her skin, even briefly.

* * *

"I'll pick you up at your cottage to take you to the party," Cyvan offered as she left that evening.

"Would you mind if my friend Lila came?" Rikku asked. "She's only here for a week and I don't like to walk out on her on her first evening here."

"Delighted," he said, smiling at her. "Isn't she your friend Lulu's cousin? She's married, didn't you say?"

"Yes, she's married, going on four years now."

"What's she like?" He asked curiously.

Rikku laughed. "Wait and see!"

The next morning, Lila sauntered off the hover, not an easy thing to do, Rikku thought. Behind her staggered a bemused young man carrying her cases. Lila greeted Rikku with a wave and dismissed her ardent admirer with a few sweet words.

"Lila!" Rikku sighed as she kissed her. Anyone looking at them would imagine it was Lila who worked at Djose for the biggest company in Spira, and that it was Rikku who was the harassed wife.

"Djose," Lila smiled, looking around her with bright, eager brown eyes. "Djose! I can hardly believe it."

"You don't live that far away," Rikku pointed out. "Guadosalam is hardly the back of beyond." For though it was true that the Machine Faction had grown, bringing new businesses with it, the same could be said for most of the towns in Spira. Guadosalam, being somewhat central was not as large as the community at Djose, but was still fairly cosmopolitan.

"I haven't been to any decent shops for ages! Lila complained.

"Where did you buy that then? The market?" Rikku eyes her from head to toe with admiring irony.

Lila shrugged her slender shoulders with an economic and graceful gesture. "You have no idea how bored I am."

"How's Nimrook?"

Lila ignored that. "I'm going to enjoy myself while I'm here."

Rikku's heart sank. "Oh, are you?" she asked as she looked at her friend's exquisite profile.

* * *

Lila was delighted by the news about Rin's party. She pumped Rikku for information about the people who would be there and was obviously very interested in both Rin and Cyvan, until Cyvan arrived and she cast a shrewd eye over him and recognised that he was not the sort of man to make passes at married women.

Cyvan looked astounded as they shook hands. He looked over Lila's sleek figure as he spoke to her in his careful, polite way. She was wearing a backless satin dress in a rich shade of burgundy. It left little of her curves to the imagination. Rikku wondered how Nimrook managed to afford such clothes for her, since he had retired from Blitzball a few years ago. She grimly hoped that Lila wasn't in as reckless a mood as she suspected. She looked sophisticated, very daring in her skimpy dress, and she looked very expensive to keep.

Rikku was making no effort to compete. She was wearing her black dress, the one she usually wore to these occasions. It made her both presentable and almost invisible. Sleeveless, the bodice had a tight, shirred fall to her small waist and the skirt clung to her smoothly, emphasising her slender hips. Nobody was going to be noticing her.

Cyvan got them both flowers, to her surprise. He gave Lila a creamy blossom with a glittering gold bow from which trailed a shorter cluster of gold ribbons, but to Rikku he smilingly handed a white one with silver ribbons. "I must have known," he said as he watched her pin it at the side of her hair.

Lila got him to pin hers to her bodice, and Cyvan's ears went red as he fumbled with her dress and he was obviously glad to complete the task. Lila gave him an acid look, dismissing him from her list of possible conquests.

She had a distinct glint in her eye as they arrived at the party. It was being held on Rin's largest air ship, up on the deck. A force field protected the guests from the elements, while the ship hovered over the Moonflow. The pyreflies swirled around and lit up the river, making it glow, "Like a sea of stars," as Lulu had once said.

That thought brought to mind her old friends, and her cousin, whom she knew she would not see here tonight since she was laid up at home, eight months gone with her and Tidus' first child.

A smooth and soft voiced Rin came to greet them. To Lila's annoyance he spoke to Rikku first, in a stream of Al Bhed. This was not just because her father was still the leader of the Al Bhed nation, no matter how scattered it was these days, but also because Rin knew that Rikku was closer to Gippal than anyone else, and thus, she knew most of his secrets. Rin didn't waste time on someone without influence. His nephew, present this evening, was less single minded.

When Rikku managed to detach herself from Rin's purring attempts to coax information out of her, she saw Lila and the nephew drinking together, tête-à-tête in a corner.

She moved to break that up and Cyvan unluckily joined her. He wanted to tell her she looked charming. Rikku could have hit him. She had wanted to whisk Lila away, but Cyvan and the nephew, (whose name Rikku still didn't know), launched into a conversation and Lila stuck to them like glue.

The nephew was glancing at her all the time, his white teeth gleaming. He didn't have to say he thought Lila was enchanting; his bright eyes said it all the time. It didn't do him any good in the long run, thought, because to Rikku's horror Gippal suddenly arrived. Rikku hadn't seen him walk in and when she heard his voice behind her, her heart took a nose dive. Oh, no, she thought, not him! She looked at Lila with anxious concern, but Lila was already gazing at him and her brown eyes were avid.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Rikku?" Gippal enquired softly behind her.

Lila's lashes flickered over her smooth cheeks. She wasn't actually smiling, but she looked like a cat that has swallowed the cream.

Rikku turned her head slowly, met Gippal's eye and saw cool amusement in them. He was here deliberately. He had lied to her when he said he was too ill to come to this party. He had wanted her to bring Lila and had suspected she wouldn't if he was going to be there.

All these realisations flashed through her mind even as she was staring blankly at him. All of it had been a well thought out plan. His cold had given him the perfect excuse. She had known he was exaggerating his symptoms, but it had never entered her head that he had been doing it so maliciously. What a bastard. What an utter, utter, bastard.

She introduced him to Lila and Gippal stepped forward to take Lila's hand. They looked at each other with frank assessment. Gippal was in evening dress, and he looked superb. It infuriated Rikku to admit that. He looked taller than ever, the tough handsome face faintly mocking, his mouth curved in a sensual twist as he looked at Lila.

Rikku had known it would happen if they met. She watched it with stoic irony.

Lila fluttered her artificial black lashes at him and laughed. "So you're Rikku's boss!"

"Does she give me a good report?" he asked, and his eyes flicked to Rikku because he knew she wouldn't have done and that amused him. He gave her a quick, wicked smile which she did not return.

He looked back at Lila. All the boredom had gone from her exquisitely made up features. She was very much alive now and she was making no attempt hide the fact that she fancied Gippal very much indeed. Nor was he making any secret of the fact that it was mutual.

I've got to stop it, Rikku thought grimly. But how?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy or the works of Charlotte Lamb**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, I do appreciate them. Not much to say right now, am pretty tired.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

_"Never underestimate the power of passion."_

**_ Eve Sawyer_**

* * *

The thing that annoyed her the most was that Gippal was amused. Although he was flirting with Lila on and off for the rest of the evening, he kept Rikku at his side and forced her to be an unwilling witness, his green eye gleaming with laughter whenever she met it. He knew exactly what was going on inside her head. Her impotent anger appeared to be giving him a lot of pleasure, judging from the way he grinned whenever she turned he glance in his direction.

It wasn't news to her, of course, that he had a sense of humour. He had revealed it on other occasions. But Rikku didn't like knowing that he was laughing at her. She never had, or would.

It occurred to her that in a way she had brought this about herself. When he questioned her about Lila she had been foolish enough to betray to him her desire that he shouldn't meet her friend, and, being Gippal, he had not been slow to work out why. He had probably guessed that Lila was attractive. Why else should Rikku have wanted to stop them meeting?

She had noticed before that he had a tendency to tease, in fact who hadn't noticed? He had often deliberately teased Rin by talking to her in front of the man in veiled terms which left Rin dying to know what Gippal had been talking about.

"You didn't tell me your friend was a raving beauty," he accused when they were alone for a moment.

"Lila is married and not available", Rikku countered with conscious optimism.

Gippal's brows flew up, "She looks pretty available to me." The infuriating thing about that was that he was dead right – Lila had been giving him a strong come-on ever since she had met him. She couldn't have been more obvious if she had had it written in neon lights on her forehead.

"Lila hasn't got any sense," Rikku muttered.

"Or she wouldn't flirt with me?" Gippal watched her, his green eye gleaming with amusement. "Have you ever given anyone the green light, Rikku? Or do they all get the no-sale sign you give me?"

"I wasn't aware I gave you any signs at all," she retorted.

"Oh, yes, you were," he drawled smoothly. "You know precisely what you're doing."

The nephew, whom later Rikku found out was called Carrick, drifted up to them, giving Gippal a nod before turning his flattering dark eyes on Rikku. "You haven't tried our _paan _yet. Come and tell me what you think of it."

Gippal's hand snaked out and caught her waist, drawing her against his side. "She isn't hungry," she heard him tell Carrick in a lazy, smiling voice which yet conveyed decision.

Carrick's uncle, Rin, was hovering nearby, waiting to get Gippal alone. He had been trying all evening without success. Gippal hadn't let Rikku leave him for a second.

Carrick looked meltingly into Rikku's eyes and have her his party special: the smile he knew from experience turned girls' heads.

"Just taste the _paan, _Rikku," he suggested, winding his fingers through her and giving her a little tug.

He really was a charmer in a totally artificial way. He could be a delightful, amusing companion if you didn't take him seriously. Rikku gave him back the smile, her eyes laughing.

"Another time, Carrick."

"Please, Rikku," said Carrick, pulling at her.

Gippal's hand tightened. She looked up and found him eyeing her ironically. She was tempted to go with Carrick just to annoy him, and Gippal caught the flicker of rebellion in her eyes and smiled again, his expression warning her not to give into impulse.

Rin oiled in as reinforcements to his nephew. "You're not dieting, are you, Rikku? You certainly don't need it." His silvery blond hair shone under the lights as he blandly inspected her with flattering interest.

Completely unflattered, especially considering this man was a friend of her _father's_, Rikku shook her head. "Just not hungry," she shrugged.

"A pity," Carrick mourned, still trying to woo her with his smile.

"Yes, isn't it? Never mind, the champagne is delicious," Rikku smiled.

Carrick withdrew, defeated. Rin stood talking to Gippal and Rikku for ten minutes, getting nowhere and then moved off in search of easier prey.

Gippal glanced down at Rikku. His arm was still round her waist and now that they were safely alone she wriggled free. He gave her a wry smile. "The nephew fancies you, doesn't he?"

"That boy fancies a lot of women," Rikku knew Carrick thought her attractive and her voice was cool. She no intention of letting him sleep with her, and that was all Carrick would have in mind if she encouraged him.

"But you don't fancy him?" Gippal had lifted one blond brow and was smiling slightly, his eyes narrowed.

Rikku looked away, suddenly oddly hot. She hadn't drunk much and although the deck was crowded it hadn't seemed so airless moments ago. Deliberately she shrugged her shoulders. "He's very good-looking."

There was a little silence. She looked up quickly and Gippal was watching her with an expressionless face. "How well do you know him?" he asked, and Rikku found herself growing hotter.

Did Gippal imagine that she was secretly dating Carrick? He wouldn't like that, she realised. Gippal had gradually, over the two years she had worked for him, come to trust her with some of his very private information and he would not be pleased if he suspected she was seeing Carrick, Rin's nephew and heir apparent.

Before she had time to answer his question, he asked another, his tone hard. "Why are you blushing?" His green eye pierced her face. "Is he your lover?"

The terse question broke her alarmed suspension. "No, he isn't," she snapped back. "And never likely to be. That boy is a womaniser and I don't happen to fancy being one of a procession."

Gippal's face relaxed and he gave her a sardonic grin. "That's what I thought, but women are deceptive. You're more Cyvan's type."

"What type is that?"

"Sweet, virginal," Gippal mocked.

Her cheeks burnt. That no-good rotten... "One day – " she started, and stopped hurriedly.

"One day what?" he enquired, his eyes lazy.

She didn't answer.

"Is this another message I'm going to get the day you leave?" Gippal asked in pretended interest. "I can't wait."

Rikku lifted her glass and drank the rest of her champagne, while Gippal watched, smiling.

"Just remember, the nephew is only interested in you because you work for me. Keep him at a distance."

Rikku was shocked that Gippal seemed to think she was really that stupid, or that her work with him was the only thing she had going for her. Had he forgotten just whose daughter and sister, and _cousin _she was? Had he forgotten just who it was who had saved his life, more than once? Clearly he had, and also, given the mood he was in, there was also little point of reminding him of all that at this time. It really would end up more trouble than it was worth.

"I'm not stupid!" She still felt she had to make her point on this, however.

"Not stupid," he agreed. "But female. And they tend to lose their heads when a good looking boy like that turns the heat on."

"Not me," Rikku said with certainty. "He doesn't turn me on."

"Does anyone?" The soft question threw her into disturbed confusion. She felt his eye moving over her from her straight, sleek golden hair to her feet. "You see a lot of Cyvan, don't you? He's always in your office. You lunch with him, too. Does Cyvan turn you on?"

She shrugged, not answering.

"But you haven't slept with him yet." Gippal made that a statement, his eyes intent, and Rikku flared angrily.

"That's all you think there is to it, isn't it?"

Gippal shot her a strange, sharp look, his blonde lashes shifting against the hard angle of his cheekbone. "Does it add up to more for you and Cyvan?" Her voice was curt and Rikku felt herself stiffen. He was wondering if she hoped to marry Cyvan, she realised, ad Gippal certainly didn't like that idea. Her spine tingled with anger she took the implications of that. Gippal was prepared to smile cynically on a temporary liaison, but he wasn't going to have his brother being lured into marriage, even if it was to the daughter of the leader of the Al Bhed. Rikku was not suitable as a wife for one of his family, though if she wasn't, he had no idea who was.

She forced herself to look calm, not betraying the rage she felt. "Ask Cyvan," she said.

"Oh, I will," Gippal warned softly. He gave another of those insolent, stripping glances and Rikku's hands curled at her side impotently. The green eye had a gleaming curiosity as it wandered from her bare shoulders down the whole length of her body in the clinging black dress. When it came back to her face Gippal took in the chilly expression she wore and began to laugh. "Cyvan must have more to him than I'd imagined if he can get through your armour!"

Rikku gathered together her dissolving sense of humour. She would not let him taunt her into losing her temper. Sweetly, smiling, she retorted: "Well, you can't be right all the time."

"But I work at it," Gippal assured her, still amused. A server passed and he reached out a hand to take a glass from his tray. Rikku watched his white cuff shoot back, the sinewy wrist exposed, short golden hairs glinting in the light. He turned back and their eyes met. Rikku hurriedly looked away.

Cyvan had been hovering nearby, staying at a distance because whenever Gippal caught sight of him he silently warned him to stay where he was while he was talking to Rikku. Cyvan obediently waited. Rikku threw him a sardonic look now. "Shall I give him a whistle for you?"

Rikku could have hit him. He didn't need to underline Cyvan's faithful obedience to him. Cyvan was not merely fond of his brother; he admired him, even if he was aware of Gippal's shortcomings. In Rikku's opinion, Gippal underestimated Cyvan. Because his brother did not have his own driving force, he shrugged him aside, and he was wrong. Cyvan aw Gippal far more clearly than Gippal perhaps knew, and if Cyvan recognised in Gippal a ruthless disregard for ordinary scruples, he still admired him for his brains and ability.

"I can give my own whistles," she told Gippal, moving away from him. As soon as she left Gippal, Cyvan joined her, a smile on his face, and behind her Gippal laughed softly.

Gippal she saw later with Lila. They were standing alone, looking at each other in a way which sent a jolt of alarm through Rikku. She recognised that flush on her friend's smooth cheek, recognised the excited brightness of Lila's brown eyes. Turning her eyes to Gippal, she tried to read the expression on his face, but had less success. Land was using his green eye to tease Lila intimately – but then she had seen look at a lot of women that way and it didn't necessarily mean anything. Gippal used his sex appeal ruthlessly when he found it useful. He was not necessarily intending to start anything with Lila.

"I'll drive you home in the hover whenever you're ready," Cyvan offered at her side.

She turned back to him gratefully. "Thank you. Do you think we could leave now?"

They both glanced at Gippal. "Shall I ask him?" Cyvan enquired without real enthusiasm. He knew Rikku was here for Gippal's benefit and they both knew she would leave when Gippal said she could. Cyvan wasn't keen on going over to break into that tête-à-tête to find out.

"I'll see if Lila is ready to leave," Rikku said lightly, and got a grateful smile from Cyvan. If anyone was going to put their head in the coeurl's den, he would rather it wasn't him.

Lila looked irritated when Rikku approached. Gippal turned his smiling glance at her and Rikku politely asked if Lila was ready to go. "Cyvan's going to take us home," she added.

"Cyvan can drive _you _home," Gippal told her. "Whenever you like."

Rikku looked at her friend. Lila was smiling again. The sensual glint of her brown eyes made Rikku want to scream. She looked at Gippal icily and he looked even more amused.

"Goodnight," he said in soft taunting tones.

"Don't bother to wait up for me," Lila murmured, I've got the key you gave me."

"Yes," said Rikku, knowing she was helpless. She couldn't make a scene and they both knew it.

As she walked away, Carrick – the nephew, intervened, giving her his purring smile. She was so angry with Gippal that she smiled back more warmly than she usually would have done.

"Your friend is very beautiful," Carrick sounded piqued and, looking into his eyes, Rikku realised that she was not the only one who had been watching Gippal with Lila that evening.

"Do you think so?" She flicked a look at him and away, frowning.

Carrick saw her frown and moved closer. His hand touched her bare arm. "Not as lovely as you, of course."

The blatant, flattering lie almost made her laugh, but she controlled herself. She looked up at him again, opening her big green eyes wide.

"Thank you, Carrick," she breathed huskily, suddenly grateful that she'd finally found out his name.

She had never given Carrick any reason to think she fancied him, but he forgot that. He was a vain young man, his own most ardent admirer. He looked pleased, moving even closer, so that she felt his thigh pressing against her.

"You know, you're wasted on Gippal, Rikku," he told her. "He doesn't appreciate you."

How true, Rikku thought drily.

"A beautiful girl like you, with your brains, could get a much better offer. Wouldn't you like your own department? To be your own boss, instead of being at Gippal's beck and call all day? I'm sure you're ambitious, Rikku. You don't want to be a secretary all your life."

He had tried all this stuff on her before. She could write the speech for him, although she was pretty sure that the general drift of it had been sketched out by Rin. Daft really, all things considered. What most of the men in her life seemed to forget was, that she didn't need them to get ahead. She had done just fine on her own and could do so again. Heck, she was more famous ad well thought of than all three of them put together. She had been part of the team who saved the world from Sin, and then put it back together again when it began to fracture two scant years later. What had they done in that time? Not much. Well, that wasn't completely fair to Rin or Gippal, since they had helped, a little.

But, nothing was gained by reminding them of these pertinent facts. Some men's minds were just too small, or their egos too big, to understand or accept when a woman outclassed them. Which she did. She, Yuna and Paine could wipe the floor with most of the people here without breaking a sweat and nary a hair out of place. How did she end up in a place like this with all these stiffs? Oh yes, now she remembered, boredom.

Rikku sighed.

"I don't," she agreed, and Carrick looked delighted. His hand was moving up and down her arm. The white teeth showed between his smiling lips.

"Why don't we have dinner tomorrow and talk about it?" he said softly.

She had no chance to answer. Gippal was suddenly behind her, his clipped voice cool. "I thought you were just leaving."

Carrick looked at him with frustrated annoyance, and then hurriedly switched his gaze back to her. He lit up with sudden inspiration. "Let me drive you home, Rikku," he beamed.

"Cyvan's taking her," Gippal told him. His hand bit into her elbow, twisting her away from Carrick, and she was marched away like a prisoner to where Cyvan was standing with a worried expression. "Get her home," Gippal told him brusquely.

Rikku met his green eye. It was steely. "And I'll see you tomorrow," Gippal promised with menace. She watched him turn away towards Lila again and desperately searched her mind for an excuse, any excused, to part them.

Putting a hand to her forehead, she swayed and Cyvan exclaimed in surprised alarm, "Rikku, are you all right?"

She had her eyes closed. She slumped against him and Cyvan held her, his arm supporting her back. Slowly Rikku began to slide downward. Cyvan muttered something and then she was taken out of his grasp. She kept her eyes shut, making a muted moaning sound.

She felt herself lifted off the ground. Someone was carrying her. Through her closed lids she was aware when the bright lights of the airship gave way to darkness, the overheated warmth became a cool, fresh crispness. She knew who was carrying her and she knew he had taken her off the airship and out into the open air.

Gippal put her in the back of his hover. She lay back against the seat, keeping her eyes shut. He was holding her wrist – taking her pulse, she thought, and became oddly aware that her veins were thundering. His hand slid over her forehead and her skin prickled with perspiration.

"She seems to have got a fever," said Gippal, sounding surprised. "She's got a rapid pulse and a temperature."

"What can it be?" Cyvan asked, speaking softly. "Should we get a healer?"

"It's probably the last effects of that cold," Gippal decided. "She should have stayed at home for a few days. She shouldn't have come out tonight."

There was a silence. Cyvan didn't say anything, but Gippal sounded annoyed when he spoke next. "I didn't know she was feeling off colour." Cyvan had clearly looked at him with criticism.

"She shouldn't go back alone to that cottage," said Cyvan, sounding stern. "She should have someone with her."

There was a pause and then Lila said: "she won't be alone. I'll keep an eye on her."

It was what Rikku wanted. She relaxed, fighting to keep a smile on her face. Cyvan began to give Lila instructions with a firm note in his voice. "If her temperature rises you must get a healer. It isn't like Rikku to faint."

"No," said Gippal, and his voice came very close to Rikku's ear, "It isn't like her at all." She heard the sudden softness in his voice and almost opened her eyes because she could hear suspicion in the smooth tone. Gippal was bending forward, his body close to her. She could hear him breathing. Rikku didn't register any reaction. She wouldn't feel safe until she had got Lila back to the cottage.

"You drive, Cy," said Gippal, suddenly sliding into the seat beside her. He closed the door and Rikku became inwardly alarmed. She heard Lila getting into the front passenger seat, and a moment later the engine burst to life.

As the hover swept out onto the road at a sharp angle, Rikku felt herself sliding sideways and tried to adjust her body. Gippal moved closer and his hand slid under her back, his arm curving round her. She tried to resist the tug he gave her, but without betraying her complete awareness of what was happening she had no option but to let him pull her across the hover. To her horror she found herself half on his lap, her head against his shirt.

His hand cradled her head, stroking her smooth hair. Rikku was torn between maintaining her pretence and pushing him away. She could hear the regular thud of his heart under her ear.

"Is she all right?" Lila asked. Rikku heard the shift of her body in the passenger seat and guessed Lila was turning to look at them. Lila was taken aback by Rikku's faint. "It's so unlike her," she said, half crossly because Gippal was holding Rikku in his arms sand Lila didn't care to see that.

"I think she'll live," said Gippal with a faint, suppressed amusement. Rikku felt his hand snake tighter round her waist and then, to her disbelief and fury, felt it moving just below her breast. She could feel his warm breath on her hair as he bent over her. Lila was talking to Cyvan, who answered her courteously.

Carefully, Rikku peered through her lashes. Gippal was staring down at her, his face very close. He was amused. His lips twitched at the corners and his eye glimmered in the shadows.

He knew she was pretending. He was doing all this deliberately. He knew she couldn't protest at the way he was handling her. What a devious, ruthless swine he was, she thought, staring at him. How typical of him to take advantage of the situation – and she should have worked out what he would do before she began her little diversion. She had hit on the scheme and acted on it without thinking ahead. She should have remembered that any move against Gippal had to be thought out very carefully in advance.

The next second her whole body was thrown into shocked suspense as Gippal deliberately slid his hand upwards over the soft swell of her breast.

Rikku's eyes flew open on a reflex action.

"Feeling better?" Gippal asked as they eyes met. He asked it with soothing concern, his voice honeyed.

Rikku pulled herself up off his lap and sat upright, shivering. Lila looked round at her. "You are flushed, darling. Why didn't you say you felt ill?"

"She didn't want to spoil our evening, did you, Rikku?" Gippal suggested sweetly.

She did not look at him. Keeping her eyes on Lila, she touched her forehead with a weak gesture. "I'm sorry Lila, I do feel rather sick. I didn't feel quite so sick earlier."

Cyvan pulled up outside her home. He hurried round to open the door and assist her, but Gippal was there already, lifting her out as though she were made of precious china. "I'll carry her," he said, and Rikku clutched at the side of the hover.

"I can walk!"

"Nonsense," he demurred. "We can't have you fainting all over the place, can we?"

She would have retreated if she had had anywhere to go. Gippal's arm went round her waist and then he deftly lifted her with a hand under her knees. As he walked away Rikku looked grimly at him and he glanced down, grinning.

The mockery in his eyes made her colour mount higher. She felt odd as she looked away from him. If she hadn't known she was putting it on, she would have said she was feeling ill. Her symptoms were the same as those of illness. She knew she was flushed and trembling, that her bones had turned to water.

Gippal carried her as though she was weightless. Lila opened the front door of her cottage and Gippal effortlessly bore Rikku into her bedroom, laying her down on the bed. As he straightened his green eye slid over her before coming back to her face.

"You shouldn't have gone out tonight," Lila told her, standing at his side and staring at Rikku's flushed face.

"Don't scold," Gippal drawled. "I think she's learned her lesson. Haven't you, Rikku?"

She met the flicking mockery of his gaze and didn't answer. Oh yes, she thought, I've learned my lesson. Give that man half an inch and he takes a mile. The physical intimacy he had been forcing on her during that ride home had been a punishment inflicted for ruining his plans for Lila that night. Rikku swallowed. Whatever she did, she was going to have to make sure she didn't give Gippal a chance to do that to her again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy or the works of Charlotte Lamb.**

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**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement, I'll try to update as frequently as possible.**

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**Chapter Five**

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_"Love without passion is dreary; passion without love is horrific."_

**_Unknown_**

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On the Monday morning Rikku was delighted to discover when she got to the office that Gippal had had an urgent summons to Home over the weekend. Cyvan told her he would be away for several days. One of their current problems has suddenly needed Gippal's personal presence and he had flown off on the Sunday afternoon. His absence gave Rikku breathing space. Lila wouldn't be seeing him, anyway.

She was seeing _somebody, _Rikku realised, when she got back to her flat that evening and found a note on the mantelpiece. Lila would not be back until midnight, it informed her. It did not say where she was and Rikku held it, heaving a short sigh.

Lila wasn't her problem as such, Rikku knew. She was a fully grown adult woman with a great deal more experience than Rikku herself, in fact, but that didn't help Rikku at that moment. Lila was hell bent on kicking over the traces and what could anyone do to stop her, short of tying her to a chair?

It did occur to her to suspect that Gippal might have lied about going over to Bikanel Island, but during the evening he called her on her CommSphere from the one installed in the guest rooms at Home to find out in a report he'd been waiting for had been analysed yet. "Call me as soon as you get the results," he added.

He was there, all right, so where was Lila and with whom? She watched the 'sphere in a rather distracted fashion all evening, trying to concentrate, but her mind constantly wondering. She discovered who Lila had been with at midnight. He brought her home and Rikku heard and recognised his voice with a grimace. Of course - Carric - the nephew.

He came into the cottage, looking around him with undisguised curiosity, and then smiled at her with that over-fluent charm. "How are you now, Rikku? We were worried about you, my uncle and I. He told me to ask how you were. It was a shock when you fainted. Everyone was taken aback."

"How kind," said Rikku, smiling back. She was seated on her sofa, casual in trackies and a Besaid Aurochs Blitzaball shirt. "Lila, why don't you make Carric a coffee? Would you like one Carric?"

"I'd love one," he said enthusiastically, sitting down beside her. Rikku flicked her hair back from her face and turned towards him, her chin on her hand to look into his eyes.

"You've never been to my cottage before, have you?" She asked making small talk and pointing out various mementos she had scattered about the room. He was replying with very little interest. For all his good looks, there was something peculiarly empty about Carric, as though there was nothing behind his polished mask. He had neither morals nor scruples. One could say the same about Gippal, yet she strangely hesitated to compare them. Whatever morals and scruples Gippal had were his own, individual and self-determined. He was tough in business, but always kept his word, he honoured bargains. Carric was far less concerned with such rules. He did what seemed most profitable, honest or not, and he had no qualms about sticking to a bargain if suited him to get out of it. He was weak, she decided, watching him as he talked about the concert he had taken Lila to see. Carric was a beautiful piece of flotsam, floating on a self-indulgent tide and happy to go wherever it took him.

For the moment he was concentrating his attentions on her because she was here and Lila was in the kitchen, rather sulkily making the coffee. Carric had orders from his uncle to get close to Rikku, if he could. He had familial approval where Rikku was concerned and, no doubt, Lila also seemed of possible use to Rin and his family. Carric didn't find it irksome to flirt with Rikku. She wasn't a sexy, sultry brunette like Lila, but she had a cool, well-groomed look which Carric didn't find unattractive. Also, Carric was competitive and it irritated him that he had never got anywhere with Rikku in the past. It would be a boost to his ego to seduce her if he could.

When Lila joined them, she gave Rikku a smouldering glance. She had expected to find Rikku in bed asleep, obviously, and was now furious because Rikku was ruining her evening's entertainment. Tough, Rikku thought. It was Monday and there was another five days to go before she saw her maddening friend back on the transport to Nimrook. She felt as though Lila had been here for years, not two days.

"Did you enjoy the concert?" Rikku asked her brightly.

"It was fun." Lila had taken the chair opposite and was aware that Carric was interestedly scrutinising her curved body as she lounged back, legs crossed, her smooth calves silken. "I do miss the city. There's so much to do."

You can say that again, Rikku thought darkly. But you're not going to do it, darling. Not while I'm around to stop you. The last thing she needed was Lila's marriage breaking up. She'd never get a moment's peace.

"I must go," Carric said regretfully a while later, glancing at his watch. Rikku walked with him to the door, to Lila's fury, and smiled goodnight at him as he went.

"Will you get off my back?" Lila exploded as Rikku came back into the room. "I know what you're up to and I', not putting up with it. You're not my mother! I'm sick of your interference!"

"Have you called Nimrook today?" Rikku enquired calmly, picking up the coffee cups without attempting to answer that outburst.

"No, I haven't, nor am I going to, because I'm sick of him, too," Lila snapped. "I'm free of him and I'm going to enjoy myself if it kills me!"

Rikku carried the cups out to the kitchen and came back. "What's gone wrong between you and Nimrook?" she asked anxiously, staring at her friend. "I thought you were blissfully happy."

"He's not the man I thought he was," Lila said bitterly. "It's you he should have married, not me. I'm not perfect enough for him. I spend too much money and I actually want to enjoy myself occasionally. Nimrook doesn't want a woman, he wants a housekeeper, and if he thinks I'm getting fat to please him. He's wrong!"

Rikku tried to sort this out, her forehead wrinkled. "Getting fat?" she probed, seizing on the least explicable of the statements.

"I'm not going around like a bloody balloon for months for anybody," Lila said, going to the door. "And I hate babies - they cry all the time and they're sick." She slammed into the bedroom and Rikku stared dazedly at where she had been.

So that was it! Nimrook wanted Lila to have a baby and she was refusing. That was the reason behind this sudden reckless insistence on enjoying herself. Lila wasn't ready for the responsibility of being a mother, so she was running away from Nimrook. 

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The realisation altered her whole view of the situation. Next morning she called Nimrook on the CommSphere in her office. He sounded politely wary as he talked. "How's Lila? I haven't heard a peep out of her since she got to Djose. Enjoying herself, is she?" There was a distinct note of anger under his careful tone.

Rikku liked Nimrook. He had been on her father's airship when she and the others had fought Sin, all those years ago. He was a Blitzball player then, but had no shied away from chipping in and helping out. They had become friends early on in his relationship with Lila. Rikku decided it would be best to attack him frankly.

"What's all this about a baby?"

Nimrook frowned and was silent for a moment. "Been complaining to you, has she?" His voice sharpened. "Well, is it so odd? We've been married for two years. We have a nice house and plenty of money. How much longer is she going to wait? I'm over thirty. I don't want to be a hundred before I'm a father."

"She's petrified," Rikku said bluntly.

"Why on Spira should she be? You mean she's afraid of dying or something?" Nimrook sounded irritable now. "My sister has three children and she's never shown any sign of being at the point of death."

"Lila isn't ready," Rikku urged. "Nimrook, you know she isn't the maternal sort. Give her time."

"Two years is time enough."

"Can't you wait a while longer?"

"She's just being selfish. What you mean is, Lila doesn't want to be burdened with kids and what I want to know is - will she ever want them? I'm not accepting a childless marriage, Rikku. I tell you frankly, I won't stand for it."

"You'd rather lose her altogether?" Rikku said that gently and there was a long silence.

"Is that what she's threatening? To leave me for good?"

"She isn't threatening anything," Rikku said quickly. "I'm just giving you a little warning."

"You wouldn't call me to warn me if she wasn't up to something," he deduced. There was a pause. "What's she up to?" Nimrook's voice was hard, his face angry.

"Nothing," said Rikku, crossing her fingers out of sight under her desk. "Bus she's upset and I'm worried about her."

Nimrook knew Lila. "I see," he said grimly. And no doubt he did. "Well, that's too bad, but if she prefers to walk out, that's up to her. I'm not going on with things the way they have been this past year. I'm sick to the back teeth with eating out and going to parties. I've had enough of parties and I'm not paying any more damn great bills for clothes, either. You can tell her that from me. Tell her to find someone with more money if that's all she thinks marriage is about!"

He cut the connection and Rikku flinched at the screech of her 'sphere. Well, she hadn't done much good there. The problem was deeper than she had imagined. Obviously, there had been rows for quite a while, and not just over the idea of a baby. Lila was extravagant, she always had been. She bought on impulse when she was bored or miserable. And she didn't count the cost. Especially when someone else was paying. 

Nimrook had come to end of his tether, apparently. Rikku picked up her pencil and tapped her desk thoughtfully with it. Now what?

If Lila didn't go back to Nimrook, there was no doubt in Rikku's mind who would be stuck with her, at least for a long time. She could put up with a guest in her flat for a week, but she had no wish to have Lila permanently in her hair. Lila, in her experience didn't worry about such minor matters as paying bills or buying food. She would blithely expect Rikku to go on doing that for her. She wouldn't offer to help out with the bills and wouldn't readily do any of the housework or shopping. Lila was a beautiful parasite, and with such behaviour, she had permanently worn out her welcome with her friends and family. Lulu would not have Lila to stay anymore, ever. Rikku was about the only friend she had left who would willingly have her in her home. At least Nimrook got something out of the bargain, but Rikku would just be landed with a lot of work, not to mention expense.

She sympathised with Nimrook, but Lila was his problem, not hers. And he was going to get her back if Rikku knew anything about it.

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That evening as she was leaving, Gippal walked in and she looked at him with annoyance. Why hadn't he stayed safely on Bikanel Island?

"I see you're delighted to see me." he drawled, surveying her very unwelcoming expression.

"Problem solved?" she asked.

"Of course." Gippal wouldn't have left if it hadn't been, his voice informed her. He looked at his watch. "You're late. Trouble?"

"No, no problems here," she half sighed, because the biggest problem of her life was at home in her cottage, not here at work.

"Then why haven't you gone?"

She didn't need to tell him. Cyvan arrived, his coat open over his elegant dark suit, and gave an exclamation when he saw Gippal. "Hello, we weren't expecting you back today."

"Weren't you?" Gippal turned his blond head to run a thoughtful eye over Rikku's flame red dress. She had changed ten minutes ago behind the locked door of her office because it would delay them too long if she went back to her flat. "Going somewhere?" Gippal asked.

Cyvan nodded, "That guy from Bevelle, ah, Trevelyan, invited us to have dinner and visit that club you introduced him to."

Gippal's brows lifted and he looked at Rikku with amusement. "Are you going to have a flutter?"

"I can't afford it," she said demurely, smiling back at him. It was pure rubbish of course, Rikku, thanks to her travels over the years, not to mention her family's holdings, was independently wealthy. However, this was a closely kept secret of hers. Gippal knew about it, she thought, though he had never said anything.

"Don't we pay you enough?" he mocked. He glanced at Cyvan. "Get her some chips on expenses. We must keep Trevelyan happy."

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It was only a few hours later that it occurred to Rikku that Gippal back meant Lila in danger again. She was with Cyvan and the short, bull necked man from Bevelle, in a Lucan gambling club and with a pang of alarm she looked at them both and realised that she had no hope of detaching either of them from their obsessive interest in the tables.

Cyvan wasn't gambling heavily; he was far too sensible. But he was watching Mr Trevelyan with avid fascination. The man's square brown hands moved firmly ash he placed his chips on the table. When he lost, he shrugged; when he won, he looked impassive. I wouldn't like to gamble against him, Rikku thought, distracted. She imagined Gippal at the table. He wouldn't show much either, she realised. He had a poker player's face. He could act well enough to cloak any feelings. It was almost possible to read him, at times, even when you knew him very well.

Rikku knew him very well. Sometimes she could read his mind as though his head was made of crystal. But even then, she often thought, her success rate was only as high as Gippal allowed it to be - he often let her read his mind for his own reasons, which wasn't very comforting. She was never quite sure whether he was teasing her or not. 

The glitter of the chandeliers overhead left the corners of the large room shrouded in dim shadow. The faces of the people at the table were cruelly illumined by that harsh light. She looked round at them all and shuddered. They watched the movements of the croupier with fixed avidity. Rikku found it distasteful to see such expressions on people's faces.

She was bored and worried about Lila, but Cyvan seemed oblivious to her restless movements. At last she touched his arm and he looked round, surprised. "I've got a headache, Cyvan. I must go home. Don't worry, I'll get a taxicab."

"I'll drive you," he protested, but with reluctance, and when she told him to stay with their client he allowed himself to be persuaded. Trevelyan himself gave her an irritated look. She was a tiresome female, his eyes indicated. Smiling at them both, Rikku left, heaving a sigh of relief. 

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When she got to her cottage she opened the door quietly. The cottage was quiet and dark. Lila was either in bed or out. Rikku crossed her fingers. Please, let Lila be in bed.

She listened outside the bedroom door and heard nothing. Walking to the living room, she opened the door and froze on the threshold in shock and rage.

The light was low. Lila was on the sofa and she was wearing a low-necked dress which was already half off. Gippal's golden head obscured her face for a second. He had been kissing her, but now he lifted his head and his eye flicked over his shoulder. 

Lila gave a little shriek of dismay as she met Rikku's angry stare.

Dead white, Rikku snapped at Gippal: "You - get out of my cottage!"

Lila leapt up, dragging her dress over her shoulders and trying to zip it up with trembling fingers. "Rikku," she squeaked.

Rikku looked at her as if she had never seen her before and didn't answer. Her skin was cold and her stomach was cramped. Lila put a hand to her mouth and ran past her out of the room, sobbing.

Gippal slowly got up, running hand through his ruffled blonde hair. "Your friend is a grown woman. Is it any of your business what she does and with whom?"

"Get out of my cottage!"

His browns drew together. "Don't talk to me like that."

"I'll talk to you how I like in my own flat!"

"There's no need to shout," Gippal muttered, his frown deepening. "Who set you up as a guardian of her morals?"

"What Lila does is her own business, but she's not doing it in my cottage."

Gippal was shrugging into his jacket, buttoning his shirt, and she watched him deliberately with cold, contemptuous eyes.

He was looking back at her as if he had never seen her before, disbelief in his face. Rikku had been angry with him in the past, but she had cloaked it with smiles and a soft voice. Now she was looking at him in a way which brought a dark red colour creeping up his face.

"You're behaving like a schoolgirl," he said brusquely.

"That's better than being a bastard like you," she shot back icily. "I don't give a damn what you do with anyone else, but you can keep your hands off my friend!" Having delivered herself of this with biting emphasis she turned to walk away.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Gippal wrenched her round to face him again.

"I'll turn my back on you whenever I like! I've seen enough of you to last me a lifetime. I'm sick to my back teeth with having your discarded mistresses crying all over me, and Lila isn't going to be one of them, if I can stop it." She flocked a distasteful look at him. "Yevon knows what they see in you - I'd rather go to bed with a basilisk!"

"Would you, indeed?" Gippal's eye was hard and narrow, rage glittering in them.

Instinctively she retreated as far as the grip of his compelling hand would let her. He stared at her fixedly.

"You listen to me, you sanctimonious little bitch," he said through his teeth, "You're not sitting in moral judgement on me, so you can stop it right here. What I do in my private life is my concern. I pay you to do what you're told, and that doesn't involve passing moral judgements on me. If you don't like my life style you can either close your eyes to it or you can get a new job,"

"Right," Rikku said fiercely, "I'll clear my desk tomorrow."

His fingers but into her and she winced at the strength he was exerting. Briefly he shook her, as though tempted to do more than that. "That's entirely up to you," e muttered as he released her and turned. He walked to the door at a stride and Rikku watched feeling horribly sick.

She heard the front door slam and stood there, shaking. The room was wavering round her. She stared with darkened eyes at nothing.

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It was a few moments before Lila appeared. She was wrapped in a lace negligee edged with soft fur. Through the lace her skin gleamed like a pearl, but her face was very flushed.

Rikku slowly turned her head to stare at her blankly.

Lila's face was tear stained. "You aren't going to tell Nimrook?" she whimpered, choking back a sob.

Rikku didn't answer. She was fighting a sick hatred which was pouring up her body like lava. She looked at Lila's full pink mouth and remembered the way Gippal had been kissing it when she opened the door.

"I didn't mean -" Lila sobbed, but what she didn't mean wasn't revealed, since she then put her hands over her face and broke down in open tears.

Rikku didn't move to comfort her. She watched Lila immovably, her eyes filled with ice. After a while Lila wiped her wet eyes and peered at her, shaken by Rikku's aloof and unforgiving stance. Lila could see in Rikku's face that this time she had gone too far and she looked at her in silent pleading.

"How far had it gone?" Rikku dropped the words out like tinkling ice.

"He was only kissing me," Lila mumbled, biting her lip.

"Only! You're married. Had you forgotten?" Rikku's voice was piercingly angry.

"Rikku, you won't tell Nimrook?" Lila implored, giving her the soft wide-eyed look she reserved for these occasions. Even with a tear stained look she was lovely and she had traded on her looks all her life, but tonight she wasn't getting out of it that easily.

"Nimrook ought to be told," Rikku said clearly.

Lila's face revealed her disbelief and shock. "Rikku, you can't tell him, you can't be so mean," she wailed.

"Why not? I rather fancy Nimrook," Rikku said cruelly. "If he divorces you he'll be looking for someone more suitable, and you said yourself he should have married me, not you."

Lila gaped. Rikku could have laughed if she had been in a mood for laughter; Lila looked so staggered and horrified.

"You wouldn't," she said incoherently. "He wouldn't." Then, with a furious face, "Nimrook loves me!"

"Does he?" Rikku smiled sweetly. "He did, perhaps, but I wonder what he'll say when he knows what I found you doing tonight."

"Oh!" Lila exclaimed on a rising note. "Oh, you bitch!"

She believed Rikku because it was what she would do herself if she wanted a man. She looked at Rikku with open-eyed jealous calculation. "You meant to catch me out," she said slowly. "You planned this."

Rikku looked at her incredulously.

"Yes," Lila went on, wiping a hand across her wet eyes, "you probably planned the whole thing. You and that Gippal man - he wheedled his way in here tonight. I didn't expect I was being set up."

Rikku could hear the tiny wheels going round, the glib excuses coming out in readiness for any accusation from Nimrook. Lila was busy creating excuses for herself, blaming Rikku - the way she had always blamed others for her mistakes in the past.

"I'm going home tomorrow," Lila announced, drawing her negligee around her with a haughty little gesture. "And if you say anything to Nimrook you'll be sorry!"

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In the morning Lila was up and packing by the time Rikku got up. Rikku glanced at her averted face with wry comprehension. Lila would get over it in time, but for the moment there was no doubt but that Rikku was in her bad books.

"I'm boarding the airship at ten o'clock," Lila informed her formally. "Thank you so much for having me to stay."

"Have a good journey," said Rikku.

She brushed her cheek against Lila's cold one and went. She wanted to get to the office before Gippal. She would have her desk cleared and be gone before he arrived.

She meant to call Nimrook and warn him of Lila's imminent return, but all thoughts of Nimrook and Lila were driven from her mind when she got to the office and found Gippal already there. Rikku paused briefly as she took in his presence, and then walked into her office. He was standing by the window. Turning, he surveyed her. She went to her desk and began getting things out of the drawers.

"Don't be so damned stupid," Gippal said suddenly.

She ignored him.

"You'll never get a job as good as this one," he pointed out. Rikku wondered if he was thinking clearly or not. Though working for her Vydran would be tiresome, it would be a cinch. Gippal was a fool if he thought Rikku relied on him and the Machine Faction. Then a thought struck her. Gippal sometimes forgot, or seemed to forget, that Rikku had known him since they were children. She knew where to place her daggers.

"Rin will give me one," said Rikku, and it was true. Rin would leap at her. One call on the 'sphere and she would be snapped up.

Gippal couldn't deny that. Rin would imagine he had got a bargain however much she demanded for her services. Rikku had a head full of Gippal's secrets. She wouldn't part with any of them, but Rin wouldn't know that. Nor, she thought, could Gippal be sure.

"Have you been in touch with him?" he demanded.

She delicately shrugged her shoulders.

"What's he offered you?"

She closed the last drawer and picked up the bag into which she had placed all her possessions. Gippal suddenly took it from her and tossed it aside. "You don't really imagine I'm going to let you walk off to Rin?"

"You told me to leave," she pointed out with a queer painful flicker of satisfaction as she met his angry eyes.

He slid his hands into his pockets. His green eye shifted from her and he frowned. "I was mad as fire last night." He paused and then muttered, "I didn't mean it."

"I did."

She didn't want to go, it was true, but she knew that last night something had happened to her when she walked in and saw Lila in his arms. She felt ill every time she remembered the way his golden head had been bent over her friend, the way he had been kissing Lila. Lila's hands had been clasped in his hair, twining in it.

Rikku looked at him with unveiled hatred. "I meant every word."

He stared back at her, his bones clenched under the smooth mask of his skin his mouth tight. "OK, maybe I shouldn't have done it, but she was giving out signals like a search light and I didn't see why I should ignore the obvious."

"You wouldn't," Rikku muttered contemptuously.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, what century do you think we're living in?"

"You knew she was married!"

"So did she," Gippal bit out. "If she had no scruples about that, why should I?"

"Because her scruples are her own affair - you're responsible for your own."

Colour flowed up his face. "All right, I've admitted that maybe I shouldn't have done it."

"Maybe?" She used a scathing tone which hit its target. Gippal stiffened and looked at her as if he wanted to hit her.

"Stop talking to me in that tone of voice!"

"I no longer work for you Gippal, I bloody well use any tone of voice I want to!" She turned to pick up her bag and Gippal wrenched her back to face him, his hand gripping her arm so agonisingly that she gave an angry cry.

"You're hurting! Get your hands off me!"

He did not let her go but his hand slackened slightly. He bent towards her, speaking coaxingly, his voice low. "Rikku, this is ridiculous. You can't walk out on me just because I kissed your friend."

She didn't answer, her face averted.

"Be reasonable," Gippal muttered. He took a breath and added roughly: "Very well - I don't want to lose you. Does that satisfy you?"

"No," said Rikku, turning her head to meet his eyes in a cold stare. "I don't want to work for you anymore."

He looked taken aback, his brows meeting. "For Fayth's sake, anyone would think I'd committed some crime! You can't mean it." He looked at her hesitantly, "What am I paying you? I'll raise it."

"It isn't a question of money." She leaned over picked up a typed sheet from her desk. "This is my daily schedule. Whoever takes my place only has to follow it step by step."

"Rikku!" Gippal's voice was harsh and angry. "Don't!"

"I think I've got everything," she said absently. The row of plants caught her eye. "Oh, the plants have to be watered twice a week."

"Damn the plants," Gippal burst out, "and damn you!"

He pushed her away and strode to his door. It slammed and the glass shivered. I'll never hear him do that again, Rikku thought. What a stupid thing to miss.

She could hear him talking on his 'sphere, his voice harsh and brusque. Picking up her bag of belongings, she took a final look around. When she turned to go, Cyvan stood in the door looking worried and puzzled. "What's going on? Gippal just called me to say you were leaving."

"I am," she said calmly.

"But why? What's happened?"

His serious face was the last straw. Rikku put down her bag and burst into tears. Cyvan exclaimed and came over to her, putting his arms round her.

"What's he done to you?" he demanded, and she almost told him, but she was luckily crying too hard and instead she burrowed into his shoulder and clung like a baby.

Cyvan rocked her, his hand over her dark head. "Rikku," he murmured into her hair a moment later. "Rikku, don't cry like that."

She was subsiding already, the flood of tears relieving something of the anguish inside her. She slumped into Cyvan's arms, grateful for his comforting strength.

"Now, what's happened?" he asked gently.

"Gippal and I had a row," Rikku muttered.

"What about?"

She hesitated, biting her lip. She couldn't tell him.

After a pause she said huskily. "I would rather not tell you, but I couldn't work for him again."

"I see," Cyvan said deeply, his voice oddly angry.

"I must go," said Rikku. Hiccupping a sob.

Cyvan restrained her, his face bent towards her. "Will you come and work for me instead?"

Rikku stared. "But Maggie -" she began, and Cyvan smiled at her.

"I can sort Maggie out. I was thinking of promoting her soon anyway."

"She might object," Rikku said.

Cyvan shook his head. "She'll be getting a rise, why should she object?"

Rikku was tempted. She looked at Gippal's closed door, biting her lip. "I don't know." She would have to see him if she stayed. She didn't know if she could do that.

"You'll have the same salary," Cyvan told her.

Rikku laughed. "No rise for me?"

"All right," Cyvan said at once. "How much do you want?"

Rikku suddenly look from his serious face to Gippal's door. "Did he tell you to offer me that job?"

She caught the expression on Cyvan's face before he said hurriedly, "Of course not." Cyvan made a very poor liar. His ears went red.

She looked down at her bag, considering the pattern on the fabric.

"You are a darling, Cyvan," she said suddenly, looking up at him with a quivering smile.

Cyvan looked surprised, the pleased. He bent towards her and Rikku slid her arms round his neck as she met his searching lips. Cyvan's hand pressed along her back and she yielded to them, letting him draw her closer.

Cyvan had kissed her once or twice before, but it was different, this time. Her mouth parted softly and she let him deepen the kiss without resisting.

The room was silent as Cyvan's kiss became harder, more demanding. Rikku found it rather pleasant to be kissed like that. She felt small and weak in his arms, leaning against him as he held her. She had been under so much strain over the past few days that she enjoyed relaxing and letting the whole burden of her life slide off while Cyvan's hands caressed her and his mouth pressed over hers.

The door behind them opened and Cyvan slowly lifted his head. Rikku didn't look round. She was looking at Cyvan's flushed, excited face. Dreamily, he said: "She staying," and there was triumph in his eyes.


End file.
